Top Talent Crowned As 2016 RHS Malvern Medal Winners Announced

Thursday 5 May 2016

RHS Malvern Spring Festival will tomorrow open its gates to welcome floods of visitors to the impressive four-day event at the Three Counties Showground. Top talent from the gardening world will be celebrating as five RHS Gold medals have been awarded.

Each year RHS Malvern Spring Festival raises the bar for design and horticultural talent and 2016 is no exception. The winner’s of the RHS Malvern Medal Categories are:

• Best Show Garden – Macmillan Legacy Garden by Mark Eveleigh in support of Macmillan Cancer Support, GOLD
• Best Festival Garden – The Water Spout by Christian Dowle of Garden Inspiration, Silver-Gilt

RHS Bronze Medals have been awarded to:
• ‘Time is a Healer’ in support of The Primrose Hospice by Martyn Wilson

Best Show Garden Winner, Mark Eveleigh said: “Wow! What an immense accolade, I’m delighted to taking the top title. This award represents an enormous pat on the back from the industry I’m so proud to be a part of. This year we really have done all that we can to bring a spectacular show garden to RHS Malvern. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the team behind the show garden for their tremendous work and support along the way. It’s been a great privilege to great this garden for Macmillan. I cannot wait to share the garden with the great many visitors of RHS Malvern Spring Festival. Here’s to a phenomenal show!”

Best Festival Garden was awarded to Christian Dowle of Garden Inspiration. Son of multi award-winning Julian Dowle and brother to Peter Dowle, a gold medal winner this year in the show garden category, Christian is carrying on the family tradition. He said: “I couldn’t be happier, this is the first show garden that I have designed although I’m no stranger to them, having been involved with helping both my father and others create them for most of my working life. It’s such a great end to what has been a fantastic journey.”

Judging took place on Wednesday 4 May, just 1 day before the festival opened to the public. Each winner passed a rigorous RHS judging process from a panel of top RHS experts. Forming the 2016 panel is Dougal Philip (Chair), Paul Hervey-Brooks and Richard Barnard as Garden Assessing Judges, along with Stephen Woodhams (Chair), James Alexander-Sinclair, Christopher Bailes and Arne Maynard as Garden Judges.

Judging of the Professional Show Gardens is based on the highly respected RHS Criteria, taking into consideration delivery, design, atmosphere, planting and construction. The RHS Floral Judging is based on overall impression, plants and endeavor.

Ken Nottage, CEO of Three Counties, said: “Quite simply the talent speaks for itself this year. 2016 sees the Show Gardens take up more space than ever before and the talent has matched the bigger spots going more grand and elaborate than we could ever have imagined. This is the time when RHS Malvern Spring Festival really comes into its own. The hard work is done and it’s time to sit back and appreciate the unimaginable efforts that go into bringing these spectacular designs to life. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate the many winners we have this year and also thank them for their immense contributions of bringing the theatre to RHS Malvern Spring Festival.”

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD .

The People’s Choice Award offers visitors the chance to vote for their personal favourite to be crowned. Members of the public can vote for their favourite Show Garden and favorite Festival Garden online at www.rhs.org.uk/malvernpeopleschoice . Voting is now open and the winners will be announced on Friday 6th May.

RHS MALVERN BY NUMBERS .

• 90,000 show visitors
• Over 500 exhibitors
• Over 75 award-winning nurseries in the Floral Marquee
• 9 Main Show Gardens
• 3 Festival Gardens
• 11 School Gardens
• Approximately 2,300 people working at the festival
• More than 47,000 cups of tea will be enjoyed
• Over 23,000 pieces of cake will be indulged
• 23,000 glasses of Pimms will be sipped
• 35,000 sandwiches will be consumed
• 106,000 plants will be sold
• Almost 100% of the show gardens waste is recycled
• The festival takes over a month to build and just 5 days to dismantle

RHS Malvern Spring Festival kicks off the Royal Horticultural Society summer show season and welcomes the Godfather of Gardening Alan Titchmarsh and National Treasure Mary Berry to headline. The landmark food and gardening festival takes place from Thursday 5th May until Sunday 8th May 2016. Tickets will be available on the gate from £21. For more information, please call 01684 584900 or visit www.rhsmalvern.co.uk

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Notes to editors

About RHS Malvern Spring Festivalwww.rhsmalvern.co.uk
RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2016 takes place from Thursday 5 May until Sunday 8 May. One of the first major RHS shows of the year, RHS Malvern opens the door into the summer season. Renowned for showcasing the latest trends in garden design, plants and innovation, visitors can also expect RHS Gold medal show gardens and displays and a plethora of nurseries from the UK and abroad. In 2014, an enhanced food presence was introduced to compliment the established and popular gardening strands. ‘Food’ ensures that the festival remains relevant and in tune with lifestyle interests. For more information about the show and for the celebrity timetable please call 01684 584900 or visit www.rhsmalvern.co.uk

About the RHS

The RHS believes that gardening improves the quality of life and that everyone should have access to great garden experiences. As a charity we help to bring gardening into people's lives and support gardeners of all levels and abilities; whether they are expert horticulturists or children who are planting seeds for the very first time.

RHS membership is for anyone with an interest in gardening. Support the RHS and secure a healthy future for gardening. For more information call: 0845 130 4646, or visit www.rhs.org.uk